Disclaimer: if I owned Avatar: The Last Airbender I would be -- a) Having Zuko falling madly in love with Katara or vice versa b) and I would be bragging about it non-stop...so basically I don't own Avatar...>


Chapter 11: An Unknown Helper

The sun is slowly setting, and the crew has still not returned. Returning from the kitchen with a rather large bowl of water she stares at the unresponsive body of Zuko. Her sore body and a lack of food and water have weakened her, but with much effort she carries the heavy bowl out the door of the kitchen. For a split second the thought of caring about him slips into her mind as the wind blows through her hair. She thinks about the fact of him being her enemy, but the wise words of her father interfere. Ever since she was little, he would tell her that you never leave someone behind and just like he had told Sokka, you need to figure out where you're need the most; and right now, whether he's fire nation or not, her healing powers were needed the most right now. Walking slowly with the vision of Zuko becoming nearer, she kneels down onto her knees and places the bowl next to her.

"I know I'm going to regret this, but not even someone like you deserve that sort of treatment" murmurs Katara as she slowly bends some water out of the bowl.

Twisting and turning her fingers, the water rises out of the bowl in a thin line. Moving her arms up and then down, she places the water where his shirt has been burned. She places her hand down onto his chest and takes in a deep breath, and then out releasing her energy and transferring it into him. Opening her eyes once again, the burns slowly disappear but her vision is becoming blurry and her concentration is becoming weak. With one final effort, she bends her last bit of water, wrapping it around his burnt arms; and in the midst of one last breath, giving away her last bit of energy; she collapses onto the floor as the water falls with her.

The feeling of warm ray from the sun could no longer be felt by the three y0ung warriors. Both Haru and Aang are recovering rather quickly as they prepare to leave Omashu. Ever since the even that took place in Omashu, Aang has been training religiously to get back his strength, while Haru has been doing to same so he can finally take avenge to the Fire Nation. Realizing what an idiot he had been earlier, Haru is more determination than ever to find Katara and win back her affection. Unfortunately for poor planning, and without Katara's motherly wisdom to guide them, things are looking clueless.

"So what's our plan exactly?" asks Aang as he practices bending the hay to feed Appa.

"Well, we know she'll be on water, so we'll just to follow the river, right?" says Sokka.

"Hopefully by following bodies of water, we'll be able to find the Fire Nation Ship she's traveling on" Haru says with optimism "The only problem is, is that we have no idea what to look for. All of the Fire Navy Ships look the same"

"You would think so, but I remember the one we were on looking larger than most of them. That means it either belongs to some type of general or admiral. I just hope that means we can skip looking at all the smaller ones and go straight for the larger ones since there are fewer of them" explains Aang.

"You're only problem, is that she's no longer on that ship" came an unfamiliar voice.

"Who's there? Who are you?" shouts Aang.

"No need to worry, I've been following your sister. She's on a ship with a young man with a scar"

"Zuko…" whispers Aang.

"Why would she be on Zuko's ship? And why are you telling us all this? How can we trust you?" asks Sokka.

"I heard of your troubles a few days ago when you were talking about saving your sister. Now that you are able to travel, I figured it was a good time to tell you what I know. I want more than anything for this war to end, and I know you need to find your sister but the sooner you find her the sooner you can get on with your journey"

"Everyone this is Li" introduces Bumi as they both reveal themselves from under one of the city bridges "Li has been spying on the Fire Nation for it is a tradition in her family" explains Bumi.

"Are you serious? How do I know you're not throwing one of your crazy test thingies on us?" questions Sokka "Besides, I've never seen her before until now! My instincts tell me…"

"Sokka, let's not get started on your instincts again…remember what happened last time?" says Aang "Besides we can trust Bumi! I've technically only known him for 112 years!"

"Yeah Sokka, she already knows where Katara is and with that kind of information, we can't lose to pass this one up" adds Haru.

"Fine, but if this leads to more trouble, then don't come crying to me and complaining about it" Sokka yells irritably.

"How can we possibly do that, when you're the one who's complaining all the time?" questions Aang while a laughing Haru could be heard.

"Just hurry up and pack your things already" orders Sokka sounding even more annoyed.

Sokka storms away as he crosses his arms in front of him. He rolls up his sleeping bag tightly and ties it to his sack along with small pots and pans to cook with. After all, without Katara around the cooking was going to be even more difficult, so they have to be ready for anything. Clanking the pots and pans together noisily, he ties two leather strands together tightly, to secure everything inside his sack. Throwing his day pack onto Appa's saddle, he walks over to Aang and Haru who are having a conversation with Li.

"So you're telling me that my sister is now being held hostage on Zuko's ship?" asks Sokka "Great now we have one of best firebenders to worry about, not that we need more problems"

"Don't worry, I have that all figured out! I'm the best martial artist in my city and I know I can beat this person named Zuko, hands down" Says Li.

"How can we assure that we have your word? And what town are you from exactly?" asks Haru, unsure of the new visitor.

"I bet my life on my honesty. I swear to help you on your journey, and I would love to reveal where I am from, but my city has remained out of the war for as long as I can remember, and if it may be revealed, I will have no home to return to. I guess you could say they're in hiding" Li explains.

"Ok, well I guess I can trust you, what about you Haru? And Aang?" asks Sokka.

"Didn't we already say that we trusted her?" they ask themselves.

"Sokka can I talk to you for a second?" asks Aang, while Haru helps Li pack up her things and theirs.

"Sure what is it?"

"It's about Zuko; you really shouldn't worry too much. You see, he helped me out awhile ago, and he may be from the Fire Nation but I don't think he has the same motives as everyone else! That's why I helped him back at the North Pole"

"Aang, I hate to tell you this, but I think all these injuries have finally gone to your head! There's no way Zuko would ever help us" exclaims Sokka "Zuko is Fire Nation. Fire Nation people can never be friends, and they can by no means be trusted!"

"Sokka you have to trust me on this one! Katara is much safer with Zuko than she is with some random person we don't know. Trust me, he's The Blue Spirit!" shouts Aang.

"Zuko is The Blue Spirit? But how can that be? He's the most wanted person by the Fire Nation right now!"

"I know, but he helped me and we need to trust that he won't harm Katara. I haven't told you this, but 100 years ago, I had friend named Kouzon and he was from the Fire Nation just like Zuko. He told me about their customs and we would compare them day and night. Anyway, he told me that they grow up respecting women no matter where they're from"

"That may be true, but that was only 100 years ago! Things have changed since then and not for the better"

"Sokka, just calm down; we can trust Li. We have to, she has information we need"

"Ok Aang if you say so…"

Aang gives a weak smile and flips up onto Appa's head with the leather strap in hand. Li walks up the large Bison's tail and into the saddle with Haru and Sokka following not too far behind. In the midst of saying "Yip, Yip" Aang realizes the presence of Bumi standing right in front of them.

"What's wrong?" asks Aang as the stares at the eccentric King.

"I cannot let you go, young Avatar" insists Bumi.

"Bumi, this is no time for jokes! We need to go find Katara right away!" he yells back.

"I know finding your friend is at utmost importance to you, but there is a terrible storm coming and I can't have you go out there"

"Who cares about a little storm? I'm tired of holding things off just because of a little rain" explains Aang, sounding more annoyed.

"This, my young travelers, is no ordinary storm. The most you'll have to wait is a day, but I must advise you that it is required that you wait!" demands Bumi, sounding more serious than normal.

"Fine, but by tomorrow night we're leaving!" says Aang, as he hops down off of Appa's head. Giving an annoyed look, he walks past Bumi while the others follow behind him giving Bumi looks of apology for Aang's behavior.

Sokka, Haru, and Li watch Aang as he angrily storms off and plops himself up against the city's walls. All three of them give sad looks as they stare at the young Airbender with his head between his legs. Approaching him slowly, the three of them sit down in front of him, while Sokka places a hand on his shoulder.

"We promise that we'd always protect each other" says Aang quietly.

"But we are" Sokka responds "It's just going to take an extra day. We'll leave as soon as possible, and now with Li on our side, we'll be able to find Katara even quicker! If there's one thing about my sister that I definitely know, it's that she's not taking any crap from Zuko!"

"You're right…" he sighs.

"Hey Li, where are you going?" asks Haru, as he watches her get up from her sitting spot.

"I'm just going to write a letter. You see, I write my parents everyday and I have Wei deliver it for me" responds Li.

"Who's Wei?" asks Sokka.

"She's my Red Ribbon Hawk" she says as she puts two fingers in her mouth to let out a whistle. Seconds later a medium sized bird with vibrant red feathers and a long flowing tail, lands on her perched arm "I'll be back in a few minutes"

"Ok" the three of them respond.

"Shouldn't you be trying to map out a route?" asks Zhao rudely as he stares out at the ocean.

"Why, of course sir, but we've just received a letter…and it's something you definitely would like to read" explains the soldier.

"A letter at this hour? Who could it possibly be?" asks Zhao as he opens the letter that is handed to him.

Zhao,

I feel that if we team up together we will be able to achieve great things, plus I've already told my brother that we're teaming up. Both of us want the same things: destroy Zuko and capture the Avatar but I cannot do this alone. I've already paid a visit to my brother which I'm sure you know by now, has a water tribe girl aboard. I'm guessing it was your bait to capture the Avatar, but since my brother does have his sly moments, he took her away from you some how. I know if we join forces we will become unstoppable and I've just come up with another plan to make it even easier. It has to deal with Zuko's emotions. But you'll figure out what that is soon enough. I've also acquired his map to all of his destinations to restock on provisions, and I've provided you with a copy that I drew for your convenience. Right now I'm doing a little scheming of my own to make this plan have more entertainment for me. I'll update you more soon as to when the final reunion shall be.

-Princess Zula

Oathkeeper: Sorry, but I just HAD to leave some sort of cliffhanger! Gotta love those right? We'll I'm off to school right now, and I hope you guys enjoyed! UPDATE: so yeah, i've re-submitted this chapter since for some reason it didn't transfer correctly...i hope you weren't too confused with the sudden change of scenery and characters, and I'm also sorry if the chapter seemed kinda jumbled...since it is sort of jumbled. I wanted to get Zuko in there as well as introduce Li and Zula/Zhao's new plan...which won't be revealed until later in the story. But let's just say I don't want you to hate me TOO much for what they're about to do...especially you zuko fangirls! Don't worry though, I'm not going to kill him since I love him way too much! Ok so back to reviewing more of my stupid spanish crap...

.:Reviewers:.

SleepingDragon13 -- Yes, zula MUST die...but unfortuantley that's not happening any time soon

wilderness-writer -- yeah I was afraid of the FB but you have to take chances right? But I promise ZUKO FANS that good things are happening to Zuko in this story!

Blonde-Existentialist -- Haha, I don't really like evil characters, they're just fun to put into stories since they make things more interesting. I'm sorry if Zula's evilness seems to intense but I picture her just like Ozai who as we can tell, is pretty cruel since he doesn't even care about burning his own family.

Boylessgirl52941 -- yes it is like PotO! Which I love by the way

Rebirth of the Phoenix -- evil-bitchy people are great aren't they? they're also fun to hate...hehehe.

Worstwritterevr -- hey, i sent you an email as in regards to your review and don't worry you're not being too harsh...after all you are giving me educational advice!

LatinaMewTitan -- I'm glad the story makes sense...? God I hope it makes sense to everyone! I'm so glad you're enjoying as well